Linked In endorsements

So. Linked In has started these endorsement things, and every time you log in, they ask you to endorse some random person you know for some random skill.

Which means that the skills you're endorsed for are totally random. It's not like anyone's going through their contacts list and seriously considering each person and brainstorming which skills they are best qualified for. Just everyone now has random skills that random friends of theirs have been randomly assigned. What exactly is the purpose of this? Is anyone taking this seriously?